The Miraculous Midorima
by V Tsuion
Summary: Takao Kazunari had a younger sister. He had seen most of Sailor Moon. Still, he was not prepared for the Miracles.


Takao Kazunari had a younger sister. He had seen most of Sailor Moon. Still, he was not prepared for the news that a shadow was spreading across Japan, infecting middle school students and turning them into terrible monsters. He was not expecting six boys, all his own age to gain magical powers and the ability to transform into "Miracles" who could fight back the shadow and return their victims to their proper form.

He was not prepared for the shadow to consume his classmates, strangers, acquaintances and then even teammates, until, without any warning, it devoured him too. The next thing he knew he was on the ground, in more pain than he had ever felt, even when he had broken a bone trying out some foolish trick. Around him, he heard the Miracles talking, bored if anything.

"That was too easy," the blue one said dismissively, "Nothing poses a real challenge any more."

"Can we go home now? I'm hungry," the purple one whined in his slow drawl.

"It is as though they're not even trying to fight us," the green one remarked, Takao could picture his scowl.

A word from their red leader and they all turned away and left Takao lying there, half-dead from a fight he could not remember.

Later, he only sometimes remembered the light-blue haired phantom who knelt over him and asked, "Are you okay?"

He spent a week in the hospital. He could not play basketball again for the rest of the year. He heard the news about how the Miracles saved the world, destroying the shadow once and for all, before going their separate ways. He could not bring himself to be grateful as he watched the news on his couch at home, still nursing a broken leg.

* * *

High school would be a time of new beginnings, Takao promised himself. As soon as he he was well enough, he resumed practicing. He would be more than ready to play basketball again when the new year began. The last thing he wanted to see was a tuft of green hair sticking out high above the crowd and sharp, uncompromising green eyes, made even more intimidating by steel-rimmed glasses.

Though Takao did not remember his fight with the Miracles, that did not stop him from seeing them in his nightmares, transformed into barely human monsters themselves. It took all the strength he had not to run away from Midorima Shintarou on sight in fear that the Miracle would glow green and slam him against the wall with a mere thought. When he finally made it to his first class that morning, he was still shaking with relief because Midorima hadn't noticed him at all.

Takao would have been content had the Miracle never noticed him and for some time it appeared he never would. After the initial shock, life seemed to go on as usual. Always sociable, Takao made friends, joined the basketball team, and was training hard to get back in shape after his injury in hopes of getting a spot on the bench for the Interhigh tournament. There were no monsters and no Miracles. Whenever he came across Midorima in the hall - and he was impossible to miss - they just pretended the other didn't exist and all was well with the world.

Things would have continued that way indefinitely had Takao not stayed late practicing one evening, as he often did to whip his atrophied muscles back into shape. Nothing unusual happened until, after hours of drills, he emerged from the gym exhausted and covered in sweat, but satisfied with his improvement. He was leaving school when he saw the tell-tale tuft of bright green hair. He froze in place, torn between fleeing the scene and acting natural, hoping that the Miracle wouldn't notice his presence. The thought that the last thing he wanted was to be alone with Midorima Shintarou barely had time to cross his mind when he heard an inhuman screech and then the Miracle was there, directly in front of him, glowing green as though he was in one of Takao's nightmares.

Takao didn't think, he just ran until his legs ached and his lungs burned. He was nearly out of sight of the school when he stopped, panting for breath. He risked a glance behind him and he saw the Miracle in the distance, glowing green and fighting a giant black beast. The beast charged at Midorima and he stretched out his hands to let out a final blast of green energy that wrapped around the beast like tendrils. Takao could feel them squeezing around him, tighter and tighter until the beast exploded in a poof of smoke and black ash.

It was only then that he remembered that he wasn't the one fighting the Miracle. He was meters away from the school, watching the fight from a safe distance, even if he could still feel the memory of those green tendrils wrapping around his skin. He shuddered at the thought.

Someone else had been fighting the Miracle; probably a student staying late like he was, or maybe a teacher leaving for the day. He was almost surprised he couldn't hear them shouting in pain. The Miracle would just leave them there, if he didn't decide to gloat first. The last thing Takao wanted was to see the Miracle, but if he didn't go back now he would be just as bad. So he stole himself and hurried back to the scene of the fight.

By the time he arrived, the Miracle was gone.

Only much later did Takao realize that Midorima Shintarou, Miracle Green, had saved his life.

* * *

Takao forced himself to continue staying late after practice. He would never get good enough to be on the bench, let alone a starter, if he didn't put the work in. He still had a long ways to go just to get back to the shape he was in before the incident, not to mention the new skills he had yet to learn and the time he had missed playing with a team. He wasn't about to let a Miracle prevent him from moving on.

And for a few weeks, things seemed to go back to normal. There were no more monsters and he managed to avoid Midorima for the most part. The girl who had turned into a monster had even returned to school and seemed to be recovering fine. Takao had all but convinced himself his encounter with the Miracle was just another nightmare - in fact, his worsening nightmares were one of the few things that reminded him all was not entirely well.

Then, one day during class, a hurried knock sounded at the door. The teacher answered and after a short, hushed conversation, she returned to the class and announced that the school was under lockdown. Another monster had been sighted. The school's resident Miracle was handling it. More news would follow.

The teacher tried in vain to continue her lecture, but all the students wanted to do was talk among themselves and her heart was not in it. As many of his classmates chattered, Takao glanced around the room. He could see the other nervous faces, silent or huddling close to a trusted friend.

Before he could decide to approach one of them and strike up a friendly conversation, another first year on the basketball team walked up to him and remarked, "Didn't the Miracles get rid of all the monsters last year? Do you think it's a hoax?"

Takao shrugged and redirected the conversation, "Say, did you catch the game last night? I missed it, but I heard it was a real nail-biter!"

They chatted amicably for the rest of class. By the time they received news that the battle was over, it was time for their next class to begin.

* * *

After a month, Takao was very nearly convinced that he was safe staying late to practice long after all of his teammates had left, that encountering the Miracle that day had just been a fluke, unlikely to happen again. Until, one day, he was about to leave for home after his usual practice routine. This time, he heard the inhuman shriek of the monster first. He could tell that they were close, just out of sight. He could still turn tail and run away to safety with no one the wiser. But for all he knew, there was no one else around. The Miracle certainly wouldn't take care of the person once he had defeated them.

So, against his every instinct, Takao walked straight toward the source of the noise and the Miracle that had inevitably already arrived on the scene. Sure enough, Midorima was there, battling the monster with tendrils of green energy. He forced himself not to freeze in terror and instead used his hawk eye to take in the battle and make sure he stayed out of the way. The Miracle wasn't having as easy a time of it as Takao expected, but it didn't last long after he arrived. Again, the monster disintegrated into smoke and ashes and a boy, maybe a year his senior, fell to the ground.

Before Takao could check on the boy who seemed to be rapidly gaining consciousness and call for an ambulance, the Miracle noticed him.

Midorima stopped glowing green and turned on Takao, "What are you doing here, idiot?"

Takao flinched under the Miracle's harsh gaze, but he refused to be intimidated. Without the green glow and tendrils, he was just another first year - a very tall first year with green hair and green eyes wearing Shutoku's bright orange uniform. The Miracle looked like a carrot. Takao's nerves all came to a point and he couldn't help but burst out laughing in near hysterics at the preposterousness of it all.

"What's so funny," the Miracle demanded, but, despite his severe expression, the spell had been broken.

"Why would someone with green hair go to a school with an orange uniform?" Takao sputtered, hardly trying to keep a straight face.

The Miracle glared at him and adjusted his glasses, "I don't see what that has to do with anything. Shutoku is a perfectly decent school, obviously."

"Sure, sure Shin-chan," the name slipped out before he could stop it.

It was just a joke to add to the absurdity of it all, but the Miracle seemed to not know how to respond. For an instant Takao was afraid he had gone to far in nettling him and that in an instant the glowing green monster would attack him again. But Midorima remained absurdly human.

Finally, the Miracle adjusted his glasses and snapped, "Don't call me that."

It was adorable and not in the least threatening. Takao grinned.

"Whatever you say, Shin-chan. Now are we going to help out our poor senpai or not?" He gestured toward the boy who had been struggling to sit up while he teased the Miracle.

The Miracle stuck up his nose and Takao was about to protest, when he transformed in a flash of green light. Takao stumbled backward. Just because he could laugh at human Midorima didn't mean he was pals with the Miracle. Green tendrils emerged from the Miracle's hands and began to wrap themselves around the boy.

"Stop!" Takao threw himself between the Miracle and his target, "What are you doing?"

The green tendrils retreated into the Miracle's hand and he glared at Takao with glowing green eyes, even his voice had an unnatural quality to it, "You're the one who wanted me to help him."

"Yeah, I didn't mean for you to attack him," Takao retorted, though he was barely able to keep his voice steady.

"I was going to pick him up before you got in the way."

Takao was probably being irrational. He knew he was probably being irrational, but he could not bring himself to trust the green Miracle and the glowing green tendrils that had threatened to strangle him and the boy who was currently laying on the ground, recovering from their effects.

"Where were you going to take him anyway?" Takao protested lamely, "Don't tell me you were going to try to take him all the way to the hospital!"

Takao let out a sigh of relief as the Miracle transformed back into a disgruntled Midorima, who continued to look like a carrot. A carrot he could handle.


End file.
